Household measuring cup with cleaning attachment



March 26, 1940. w. B. NEVIN HOUSEHOLD MEASURING CUP WITH CLEANINGATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 30. 1939 Patented Mar. 26, 1940 I UNITED T TEHOUSEHOLD MEASURING'CUF wrrH CLEANING ATTACHMENT William B. Nevin,Quincy, Mass. 7 Application January 30, 1939, Serial No. 253,542

4 Claims. (Cl. 'l362)v This invention relates to household measuringcups with a wiping or cleaning attachment, as

a complete article ofmanufa'cture and sale.

but formed of glass. Becauseof i the desired very Inorder that theprinciple of the invention may be readily understood, I havedisclosed-one embodimentthereof in the accompanying drawing,.wherein-- II I v I Fig, 1 is a plan viewshowing the preferred 'form ofthe-measuring receptacle and of the wiping or cleaningattachment;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of. the structure shownqin Fig.l; and

Fig, 3 is an edge view of the said wiping or cleaning attachmentseparated from the receptacle.

The household measuring cup with which my invention is concerned maypartake of different forms but preferably it is cone shaped or taperingas indicated at I in Fig.2, so as to presentat the bottom a very small,desirablyperfectly flat, area 2, and at the top an encircling rim 3which is provided withan outward overhang 4., lhe receptacle may beformed of any suitable material, is preferably transparent and desirablysmall size at the bottom 2-, the cup or receptacle permits of makingvery small measurements such as fractions of a teaspoon up to-a fullcup.

While it is not essential to my invention that the said receptacle bemarked with graduations indicating measurements, I preferably do havehorizontal markings or indications preferably on the outer surface asrepresented at 6 in Fig. 2,

and which may be anywhere about the circume ference of the receptacle. Ihave there indicated markings which, reading from the bottom, are of onehalf teaspoon, oneteaspoon, one quarter cup, one half cup, etc., up toone cup. If desired, I may have other markings as, for example, onethird of a cup, etc. Desirably the cup is so proportioned that themarking for a complete cup is either at or is very slightly below thetop of the rim'3, so that thus an allowance for tolerance is provided.Thus, in the use of the receptacle with liquid, a full cup would not inreality mean that the receptacle is brimming full, but thatit is fullfor all practical purposes, and the structure is such as to avoidspilling the full cup contents,

Preferably the said receptacle is provided with a lengthwise extendingdepression, groove or channel 1, shown as extending from the. verybottom 2 up to theinner face of the rim 3. This is for the purpose offacilitating the pouring out of the contents from the very bottom of thereceptacle; The said depression, groove or channel may have its wallsperfectly parallel, or theyv may, as shown, be slightly inclinedtowardeach other, so that the contents in being poured be- 5 comes gatheredinto a narrower ,compass. It.

will be evident from Fig. 1 that the upper end of the said channel,groove or'depression I does not interrupt thesmooth outer contour of therim 3 or overhang 4 thereof. f 'j I may if desired provide at somesuitable'point about the rim 3 a notch or recess 8 into which the upperend of thewiping or cleaning member may be inserted as hereinafterdescribed. The preferred form of the, wiping or cleaning attachment isshown generally at 9 in Figs. 1, 2 and ,3. As shownin'the said-figures,the attachment 9 is bent at its lower end into a complete circle ill, aface of which lies in use flatwise against the-fiat bottom 2 ofthereceptacle-and entirely fills the same. From the said lower end |il,which lies at an appropriate obtuse angle to the main portionof theattachment, the latter extends upwardly, as best indicated in Fig. 2,'

vitself as shown in Fig. 2, and preferably in a reversely curvedshape l2so thatat its extreme end I3 it engages under the overhang 4. v 35 Thematerial of which the said attachment is formed may be whatever is mostsuitable, but preferably I employ a metal wire sufiiciently resilient sothat when bent as shown in Fig. 2, the upper end may besprung about theoverhang 0 4 in a manner that will permit the ready disent I gagement ofthe attachment from the said rim. 'If desired, however, the-upper end ofthe said. attachment may not be springy, but may be of 45 asubstantially rigid nature, and in such case it would be suitablyengaged with the overhang of, the rim by applying the handle portion tothe rim at the notch or recess 8;

Itwill be evident from the foregoing descrip- 50 tion that in use theattachment, having been I positioned as 1 shown in Fig. 2, is grasped byone hand, the other hand holding the receptacle, and

the attachment is then turned through a complete circle so that whatevercontents may re- .55

gagement with said upper edge, whereby the said vvlre-lil e member maybe turned upon its said main in the receptacle is cleared from the samefrom bottom to top;

An advantage of the construction is that such products as lard, butter,etc., which normally adhere to the walls and bottom of the receptacle,

can be readily cleaned out by simply turning the attachment once aroundthe cup. or receptacle, thus releasing the entire contents; Theattachment can be assembled or applied to the cup or Y receptacle bysimply inserting the attachment into the cup or receptacle and snappingthe upper end over the edge of the rim thereof.

The channel, groove or depression "i may be of any suitable dimensions,depending upon the size of the receptacle, as, for example, a width ofone-half inch at the bottom tapering to a quarter of an inch at the top.Such a construction facilitates the pouring of small liquidmeasurements, as, for example, fractions of a teaspoon.

Such channel also would serve as apouring channel for all liquids. Suchconstruction will not, it is evident, interfere with the rotary orturning movement of'the attachment since the outside or the overhang isa complete circle as shown in Fig. 1 (excepting in the case where thenotch or small recess iiis employed past which, however, the part it ofthe handle will readily pass).

Having thus described one embodiment of the invention, itis to beunderstood that although specific terms are employed, they are used in ageneric and descriptive sense, and not for purposes of limitation, thescope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

I claim: V

1..AS anew article of manufacture, particularly for household use, avcup-like receptacle for liquids or solids, substantiallyuniformlytapered outward from a bottom of small area, and a cleaning wire-likemember, the lower end whereof is of circular form and fills the entiresmall-area bottom, the said wire-likemember thence extending-upwardly incontact frombottom to top thereof with the inner surface of thereceptacle, and to and over the upper edge thereof, and there having areadily detachable encircular lower end as a pivot through a completecircle, and thereby clear the contents from substantially the entireinner surface of the receptacle.

2.; As a new article of manufacture particularly for householduse, acup-like receptacle for liquids or solids substantially uniformlytapered outward from a bottomoi small area and having at its top anencircling rim constituting anoutward overhang, and a cleaning memberhaving a lower end extending flatwise across the entire area of thebottom, said member thence extending upwardly in contact throughout theheight thereof with the inner surface of the receptacle, and to and overthe said encircling rim and there having a readily detachable engagementwith the said outward overhang, whereby the said member may be turnedupon its said flat lower end substantially as a pivot through a'completecircle and thereby clear the contents/from substantially the entireinner surface of the receptacle.

3. As a new article of manufacture,'particularly for household use, acup-like receptacle for liquids or solids, substantially uniformlytapered outward from, a bottom of small area and having at the top anencircling rim constituting an outward overhang, the said rim. having arelatively narrow notch or recess at the outer portion of said rim, anda cleaning member having a lower end extending to and across the bottomof the receptacle and thence extending in use in contact throughout theheight thereof with the inner surface of the receptacle to the upperedge thereof, the upper end of the said member having a handle portionwitha part adapted tobe entered beneath said rim at the said notch,'whereby when. the said member is thus detacliably engaged with the saidrim the said member may be turned upon its lower end substantially asapivot througha complete circle and thereby clear the contents fromsubstantially. the entire inner surface of the receptacle.

4. As a new article'of manufacture particularly adapted for householduse, a cup-like'receptacle for liquids or solids, said cup beingsubstantially uniformly tapered outward from a bottom of smallarea, anda cleaningmember having a lower end reaching to and across thesmall-area bottom to provide a non-attached bearing point, and extendingin contact from bottom to top thereof with the inner surfaceof thereceptacle, and to and over the upper edge thereof and there having areadily detachable engagement with said upper edge, whereby the saidmember may be turned upon its said lower and substantially as a pivotthrough a completecircle and thereby clear the contents fromsubstantially the entire inner surface of the receptacle, the saidreceptacle having at the inner face thereof a relatively narrow channelextending from the small-area bottom to the top so as to facilitatepouring the .contents Whether or not the same substantially fill thereceptacle.

WILLIAM B. NE VIN.

